Environmental Justice Map of Peterborough - A Cumulative Burden Index
The Cumulative Burden Index map shows cumulative impacts in Peterborough communities by dissemination block. Higher impact scores (darker shades) indicate greater overall burden.
The framework we used is called the cumulative impacts screening approach. It’s a tool used in public health and environmental research to highlight communities that face multiple overlapping stressors. Cumulative impacts refers to the combined effects of environmental burdens, social conditions, and existing health issues. So things like air and noise pollution, limited access to healthcare, or higher baseline illness. These factors interact over time and reinforce inequities. This approach brings together social, health, and environmental indicators to flag places where combined risks may be greater than any single factor on its own. It’s not a formal risk assessment, but rather a way to prioritize and guide attention and action where it is most needed.
Overall Cumulative Burden scores were calculated from the scores for two groups of indicators: Population Characteristics and Environmental Burden.
Participatory Mapping
Observations from community members who participated in the Participatory Mapping project can also be explored.
Data points were collected through a year-long participatory project involving 19 community members. Participants identified not only environmental risks but also community assets and strengths in their neighborhoods.
These observations complement big-data analysis by centering lived experience—especially from marginalized groups—and provides a more balanced understanding of environmental injustice in Peterborough.